[1dmbhonkey]

What is the best way to clean a leaded bore?? Also how should I clean the lead from the ported part of the barrel

 

[TheOldRedneck]

A Lewis lead remover if you are going to have to do it often. Brownells did carry them years ago. Stock up on the brass patches, you can use one more than once, but you will wear them out. Follow the directions if you buy one, they do work. To clean it with a cleaning rod and brass brush, spray the barrel with Kroil and let it soak over night. Open the cylinder, insert the rod down the barrel and screw the brush in. Pull the rod out, with each pull you will get lead. As the brush wears out you can replace it. I do not like to push the brush in and out. Yes it does remove the lead faster. You can also pound the firing pin hole on centerfires and cause a new problem. The old trick about shooting several jacketed bullets through the barrel to remove lead can cause gun damage if the barrel is leaded bad due to excess pressure. Have also had a few brought to me with the bullet stuck in the barrel. It is not uncommon for these to have bulged the barrel. Taking lead out of a handgun can take a while. When it is cleaned out check for a rough bore unless you know the lead loads were running too hot. A rough bore can be lapped to smooth it. Have fun, Kroil is your friend on this one . Remove the grips before you start to keep the Kroil off of them. Do not get it on scopes. It gets in anything it gets on. Lead can take a while to get out.

 

[.452dia]

ChoreBoy copper scrub pads cut into strips and wound around a tight fitting brush or mop work better than anything I've used including the Lewis Lead Remover. The next step is to find out why your barrel leaded in the first place. There are many reasons you might get leading in a barrel. Read up on shooting cast bullets.

 

[glenwolde]

Try the "Miracle" cloth. I have a Lewis lead remover, and it works, but I find a patch or two cut out of the "Miracle" cloth and run through with a jag tip works really well and is simpler. It will also clean the carbon rings off the face of the cylinder on nickle or stainless guns with surprisingly little effort.

Gun Polishing And Cleaning Cloth, Quickly removes: powder fouling, lead fouling, copper fouling and plastic fouling.

 

[prgallo]

+1 to the Chore Boy. I cut patches and wrap one around a bronze brush, and use it dry.

 

[JimSheldon]

Kroil is your friend on this one . Remove the grips before you start to keep the Kroil off of them. Do not get it on scopes. It gets in anything it gets on. Lead can take a while to get out.

Kroil isn't cheap, but it is one of the handiest penetrating oils to have around. Like T.O.R said, don't get it on the grips (either wood or rubber) and it WILL penetrate just about anything. Scopes won't react kindly to Kroil (to paraphrase Sean Connery in "The Hunt For Red October).

If you have something secured on your gun with Loc-Tite you should try to keep the Kroil off that too. It was named Kroil (Kreepy Oil if I remember what I read somewhere) because it will creep into just about any crack. It'll loosen even screws that have been set with red Loc-Tite over time. (Don't ask me how I know this).

 

[1dmbhonkey]

I tried the kroil and and some 000 steel wool over a worn brush, but i didnt let the kroil soak over night. It got most of the lead out of the bore but the area at the end of the barrel where the porting is still has some built up. I shot about 150 rounds (44mag) with two different powders (blue dot @ about 1400fps and universal @ about 1200fps) so im not sure which one did it (maybe both). i havent had any problems with universal @ 900fps in my 4" gun ...... so i guess i need to investigate more. Can you put gas checks on plain base bullets??

 

[1dmbhonkey]

I looked for the chore boy copper pads @ walmart last night.......no luck.

 

[JimSheldon]

Can you put gas checks on plain base bullets??

Yes, you can, but finding the right sized ones is the problem as they aren't apparently commercially made. There's a guy by the name of Pat Green over on Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets! that goes under the screen name PatMarlins, that actually makes dies to manufacture your own gas checks out of copper or aluminum roof flashing. Look in the "Gas Checks" forum on that site.

I have two sets of his standard ones in 30 caliber and 8mm/32 caliber that work real well and it's a cheap way to get gas checks. A 50' by 6" roll of aluminum flashing costs around 15 bucks and you can make almost 16000 32 caliber checks out of it. The dies fit in a standard reloading press.

He's making some dies to make gas checks for plain base lead bullets as well but I haven't tried them myself. The reviews on them have been good though.

 

[prgallo]

Publix and Kroger have Chore Boy locally, but Walmart doesn't have them here either. You might try another grocery chain store.

 

[TheOldRedneck]

A friend seated gaschecks on bevel base soft cast swc bullets. He was using regular gas checks and running them through a lube sizer. I would not use steel wool in a barrel. After looking in a barrel with a bore scope that has been scrubbed with steel wool you would understand why. It really works on the lands and grooves. You want a barrel to be as slick/polished as possible. The smooth finish is easier to clean and leads less. Years ago when revolvers were used a lot in some matches a company came out with a chemical lead remover. It would help get lead out but would also etched barrels if it wasn't got out. Wasn't around long. There are some good chemical cleaners on the market now. Whatever you use be kind to the bore, it is the heart of a gun.

 

[prgallo]

Needless to say, the best solution is to work out the bullet size, loading parameters (OAL, crimp), powder choice and load to avoid the leading. Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it takes awhile. Sometimes the old rules of thumb work, sometimes - not so much.

That's most likely what you are working through right now, so this is no big revelation. But sometimes a bullet that's leading can shoot lead free, if things are tweaked. Other time another design may work in a specific gun.

In my 357's, anything smaller than throat size gives me fits. Fast powder demands over throat size... Some guys shoot slightly small bullets in their 44's, with no leading. There are a lot of variables.

If you need some suggestions, post some of the details. Maybe someone here has been through it with the same gun and bullet. If not, we might be able to help anyway.

 

[.452dia]

Like prgallo said, there are many reasons a gun will lead. There are some great discussions on this subject on (The Cast Bullet Association) and (Cast Boolits.com) websites. I'm not an expert but I have and still shoot a lot of cast bullets through rifles and handguns. I almost gave up on them several years ago when I kept getting leading but thankfully I dug in and learned enough to find the reason and cure it.

 

[rustyntabatha]

taking notes !!!!! i have a file saved on my flash drive just for gun and bullet tech info ....

 

[Walkalong]

Wax gas checks will do it. Yep, wax gas checks.

Load a few lead rounds up with wax gas checks and they will clean the barrel out in three or four shots. Won't get the forcing cone though.

Then the trick is to get the right load and stop leading the bore in the first place.